Secrets
by Potterworm
Summary: There were supposedly only four people there the night that Voldemort came to the Potter's house. By the time the night was over, two were dead, one was vanquished, and the other, a baby, remembered merely a green light and a laugh. So how, exactly, did everyone figure out what happened in Godric's Hollow? A series of drabbles on different answers to that question.
1. Severus

**Summary:** There were supposedly only four people there the night that Voldemort came to the Potter's house. By the time the night was over, two were dead, one was vanquished, and the other, a baby, remembered merely a green light and a laugh. So how, exactly, did everyone figure out what exactly what happened in Godric's Hollow? A series of drabbles on different answers to that question.

 **Secrets**

 **By Potterworm**

I. **Severus**

When he saw the Dark Lord leave, Severus knew it was the night. He shot a message to Dumbledore and waited only a second before he realized he didn't trust Dumbledore to handle this.

Barely breathing, he disillusioned himself and followed the Dark Lord. He didn't know where Lily and Potter were living, but he wasn't fool enough to think that the Dark Lord did not know already.

Severus knew if the Dark Lord simply turned around, no invisibility charm would cause the Dark Lord not to see him. Still, he had to try.

When they got to Godric's Hollow, he paused when the Dark Lord did. He was surprised when he could see the house – hadn't they used the Fidelius?

When the Dark Lord went into the house, Severus looked in the window to see Potter and Lily. He could hear the Dark Lord talking and realized – with a curse – that he had miscalculated. The Fidelius charm wasn't on the house at all; it was on Potter, Lily, and their son.

Severus could hear the Dark Lord, and he realized he was likely talking to Potter. There was no way Lily hadn't gone to their son. Desperately, Severus transfigured a ladder and cast a charm to make it invisible. He made his way to the window on the second floor. Severus could feel his heart beating in his chest; he had so little time. Where was Dumbledore?!

He couldn't see Lily or the boy, but he saw the crib and knew she must be within feet of him. He was at an angle, so when the Dark Lord entered the room, he didn't look at the window. Still, Severus barely breathed. If he was discovered… he couldn't even think of what would happen.

Severus wondered, for a moment, why Lily had not run before the Dark Lord arrived. Flee out the window, grab a broom and fly out the window. Transfigure a ladder herself. Still, he realized how foolish that thought was. It had been only seconds since the Dark Lord entered the house, and he was already in the room. What was she to have done? (He wasn't fool enough to think she would Apparate and leave her son, and he knew that apparating was next-to-impossible with infants.)

Severus found himself gripping his wand, and he was _right there,_ all he had to do was fire a curse. But if he did, if he fired, he would surely not kill the Dark Lord. If all it took was a curse, then the Dark Lord would have died years ago. If he fired, he would surely be discovered and cursed and tortured and die, and Lily would die anyway too. Still, he found himself raising his wand, when suddenly he found himself blown from the house.

Darkness.

He woke a moment later, laying in the front yard. He looked up, dazed, and saw that the ladder had toppled over – and, to his horror, there was a hole busting from the roof of Godric's Hollow.

Severus leapt up and found his courage. He sprinted into the house, his legs taking the stairs two at a time. Severus didn't think to stop, didn't think to wonder if the Dark Lord was in the nursery still. Instead, he didn't even glance at Potter as he ran past his corpse and ran into the nursery. And – there was Lily.

He knew the moment he saw her that she was dead, but still, half-blood that he was, he found himself taking her pulse. Severus hadn't cried in years, but he found himself sobbing then, sobbing hysterically and holding her body. This was a pain he had never known. _If only, if only._

He didn't know how long he lay there when, to his surprise, he heard the boy cry. Severus looked over.

The boy – lived?

Later, Severus would leave the boy behind, not wanting people to know he had been there. Later, Hagrid would arrive and take Harry to his aunt and uncle's home. Later, Severus would sit in Dumbledore's office and explain what he had seen, and later Dumbledore would ask to see the memory himself. Later, they would piece together what must have, might have, could have happened.

Later, the world would raise their glasses to the boy-who-lived.

Now, Severus mourned.

 **Author's Note:** inspired by the scene in _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two._ At least five more drabbles to come.


	2. Department of Mysteries

**II. Department of Mysteries**

Fenwick was working the night shift, and to be honest, he was a bit peeved about it. It was his daughter's recital tonight, and he was supposed to be there. His wife wasn't overly pleased with his new position in the Department of Mysteries, and he had to reassure her that night shifts wouldn't happen every day (even if this was his fifth one this week).

He knew, one day, when he'd paid his dues, he would work his way up to better shifts, and he'd get to investigate the kind of magic that he loved. He'd get to change the world, even if his name would never be known.

He was in the monitoring office, which was just about the most boring part of his job, unless something strange happened. These were new systems put up around Britain, particularly in neighborhoods known to have muggle and magic mingling. He was to watch the screen, and if a surge of unusual magic occurred, he was to alert his boss. They couldn't have the muggles becoming aware, and – more importantly to Fenwick – they wanted to know what was causing the surge.

Last time, the surge hadn't been anything, just a potions explosion. _But,_ Fenwick had heard from his coworkers that sometimes the surges were evidence of the invention of new spells, and as spell creation was Fenwick's expertise, he would _kill_ to see something like that.

He was just dozing off when suddenly the claxons sounded. Fenwick jumped from his seat and smashed his knee off the desk. He looked at the screens, expecting it to be nothing, when suddenly he was standing. " _Rupert!"_ he hollered and, a moment later, heard his boss behind him.

Fenwick grabbed his wand and took notes on what was happening. "What do you think it is?!" he shouted, and then – feeling rather stupid – silenced the claxons.

Rupert, his aging, potbellied boss, looked at the screen, showing the largest outpourings of magic they had ever reported. His face paled, and he said, "Continue monitoring." He strode, hurriedly from the room.

"Are you going to investigate?" Fenwick asked, following. "Sir, I should be a part of the investigation!"

Rupert banged on a few doors as he passed them, and Fenwick realized he was preparing a team. "Sir!"

"Fenwick, you'll stay here and monitor the screens!" Rupert shouted.

Cowed, Fenwick retreated to the room. Later, he would learn what had happened that night, and he would raise a glass to the boy-who-lived. Now, though, Fenwick stared at the screen and wondered what had caused the largest magical spike the Department of Mysteries had ever recorded in – he leaned closer to the screen – Godric's Hollow.

One day, Fenwick knew he would investigate these instances himself. Today, he would pay his dues.


	3. Death Eaters

III. **Death Eaters**

When the Dark Lord beckoned one of his Death Eaters after him, he scampered to follow the Dark Lord immediately. He extended his hand harsher for a moment, and suddenly the other Death Eaters were also following.

The Dark Lord said, "Today, you will witness a triumph in our war against inferior blood."

"My Lord," one of them breathed.

"Today, I will triumph against those who will choose to fight against their rightful place in society. Today, we all triumph," he said.

They followed behind him, halting when he stopped for a moment and waved a hand over them. Invisible now, they followed.

"Stay silent, my Death Eaters," he said. "You are not to interfere with what goes on. This is my battle to win."

Fascinated, they followed. Was he going to attack Dumbledore? The Minister of Magic?

When he told them where to Apparate, they were surprised to be going to Godric's Hollow, a quaint, small town. But it was filled with blood traitors, mingling with muggles, so perhaps there was a high profile target here. They still they held out hope for a battle, a showdown, the triumph to halt all progress of the so-called Light side.

When he whispered a Secret to them, they followed him into the Potter's home and were able to see James Potter in the living room. He wanted to duel – but he didn't even have a wand. They had to remind themselves not to chuckle; for some reason, their Lord wanted this showdown to seem private.

(It wasn't their place to question orders.)

When they went upstairs and when they witnessed the Evans girl refuse to stand aside, a few of them rolled their eyes. They still didn't understand how defeating one mudblood would secure their triumph, but the Dark Lord always did put on a good show.

(They wouldn't understand until much, much later that the Dark Lord had been referring to the baby.)

When the curse fired upon the boy and then back again, a few ducked out of the way instinctively, and then – then their Lord was just gone. These Death Eaters were just children, just boys and girls really, some fresh out of school. They didn't know what to do; _they didn't know what to do._

They Disapparated, and later that night, in a secret meeting, tried to determine what had occurred. The Death Eaters vowed each other to secrecy, vowed each other to silence.

But as secrets are wont to do, this too came out. Within hours, one had let it slip at a pub, and within an hour of that, another had been caught by an Auror and let the secret loose during interrogation.

The Death Eaters didn't know what they had witnessed, but by that night, the world had determined what had happened, and their Lord was considered vanquished.

They fled and some were caught, and some who hadn't been there and didn't believe the rumors went to torture the Longbottoms.

The rest of the world raised its glasses to the boy-who-lived.


	4. Legilimens

**IV.** **Legilimens**

Baby Harry was sobbing on the table. Madame Pomfrey – the Order's go-to Healer – shushed him reassuringly and waved a wand over him.

"He doesn't seem to be harmed, Albus," she said, after considering the results from the diagnostic spell.

Dumbledore nods and murmured under his breath. He stroked his beard for a moment and then said, "Thank you, Poppy. That will be all."

Madame Pomfrey looked as though she might protest for a moment before acquiescing. "Alright, Albus." She left quietly, shutting the door behind her.

Dumbledore looked down at Harry Potter and focused on his scar. "Curious," he murmured. Then, with a wave of a hand at the door to ensure it was locked, he turned to Harry and whispered, " _Legilimens_."

Harry went harshly still for a moment, and Dumbledore knew it was ethically unsound to perform such a spell on a small child, but it was the only way to know what had happened.

Dumbledore searched Harry's mind – saw a toy broomstick, saw Sirius Black (and Dumbledore's nostrils flared for a moment), and Lily's red hair.

Then – there – the moment he had been looking for. Dumbledore watched the scene play out, stood solemn with pride at Lily's sacrifice, and watched the spell rebound upon Voldemort.

Dumbledore left Harry's mind then. Harry immediately squirmed, but he did not cry.

"Ah, my sweet boy," he said, and he picked Harry up.

Dumbledore sent a message off to Hagrid then and told him to drive Harry to his aunt's and uncle's home the next morning.

Dumbledore would have done it himself (and would, in fact, meet Hagrid and Harry there), but he had business to attend to now, a story to share with the wizarding world, and two of his young students to honor.

Voldemort was vanquished, and the world needed to know.


	5. Dumbledore

**V. Dumbledore**

Kneeling underneath the gaping hole in the ceiling of Harry's nursery, Dumbledore closed Lily's eyes.

When the devices in his office had begun to whirl, Dumbledore knew that something had gone terribly wrong in Godric's Hollow. He made his way over immediately, but it was too late.

Dumbledore looked over at Harry, who, thank Merlin, did not appear injured aside from a small scar on his forehead. He was hardly crying anymore, though he had been before Dumbledore walked into the nursery.

Dumbledore waved his hand at Harry, and the child fell into a magical sleep. No need for the child to relive the last hour.

Then, in a feat of magic that perhaps only Dumbledore would know how to do, he waved his hand over the nursery. Like a hologram, time reversed, and he watched the scene play out.

Lily flung the door to the nursery open – quickly, desperately. She held her wand tight – fingers turning white around it. "Harry, Harry, Harry," she said, repeating his name again and again and again, like a supplication.

Dumbledore felt a tear forming in his eyes. Lily and James were not the first of his students to die in this war – and he still wasn't positive they would be the last – but still – Dumbledore very rarely witnessed these moments.

When Tom entered – mere seconds later – Dumbledore was momentarily surprised to see him offer Lily a chance to walk away. Then, he realized that Severus must have asked. (Intriguing that Tom would have listened, Dumbledore noted.)

The sound of Lily's voice pleading for her son's life would stay with Dumbledore for the rest of his life.

When hologram Lily dropped to the ground, she disappeared, but then Voldemort turned to Harry. Dumbledore was confused for a moment about what could have happened, but waited, patiently, and watched.

Then, perhaps the most intriguing turn of magic Dumbledore had ever witnessed, and the ceiling exploded upwards, and Voldemort's soul fled his body, which disintegrated in the nursery.

The holograms ended then, but Dumbledore spent a long moment staring at the space where the scene had played out.

And then – then he smiled. Peace, at least for now.

He would have Hagrid take Harry to his aunt's and uncle's home while he spread the news, and then he would meet the boy-who-lived there.


	6. Secrets

**VI. Secrets**

What happened that night between Harry and Voldemort was a complete secret, so naturally everybody knew.

 **-Fin-**

 **Author's Note:** Fun fact: I found this line in a file outline for this fanfiction which I wrote over seven years ago.


End file.
